Here's a great recipe to making your own homemade Dulce De Leche. There are lots of different methods, and for me, this one I find works great, giving the right consistency, flavor, and color! This dulce de leche recipe is super easy, using a can of sweetened condensed milk and no other ingredients to give you sweet, sticky caramel.
Sticky, sweet, gooey, caramel like sauce! That's Dulce De Leche!
Now you can make your own, using just a can of sweetened condensed milk and no other ingredients.
We have a lot of recipes using dulce de leche as an ingredient, so if you're looking for a variety of recipes, browse all our dulce de leche recipes and I'm sure you'll find what you are looking for!
For example, we have a lovely recipe using dulce de leche and apple in puff pastry, an apple bread loaf with dulce de leche, and a banana loaf with dulce de leche to name just a few.
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You just need a little time and care, so this isn't a recipe for making dulce de leche fast, as it takes between 2 - 3 hours, but the recipe is very easy and you only need a pan and a can of condensed milk.
You will have a deliciously sweet, sticky sauce that will keep in an air-tight container for up to two months.
It is made from condensed milk and all you need to do is follow the simple steps below.
What You Will Need
A saucepan large enough to hold your can.
1 can of sweetened condensed milk.
Instructions
1. Remove the label from the can of condensed milk.
2. Using a can opener, pierce two holes in the can, making sure the holes are on the top of the can at opposite sides. THIS IS IMPORTANT YOU MAKE HOLES to stop the can from exploding.
3. Place the can in a small pot and fill it with enough water to come up to one inch (2.5cm) from the top of the can.
(Place the can in the pan with the holes facing up above the surface)
4. Have the water gently simmering, check every 20 - 30 minutes to make sure the water doesn't boil dry. Top up to the original water level when necessary.
5. Some of the condensed milk might come out through the holes you made. Don't worry about this.
6. For a Soft Dulce de leche simmer for 2 hours.
A Firm Dulce de leche will take up to 3 hours.
When the time is up, carefully remove the can with some oven gloves. It will be VERY hot.
Leave for 30 minutes to cool a little then open the can as you would normally.
Scoop out the dulce de leche into a bowl and give it a good stir. .....and hey presto!
Variation
We've had great feedback from one of our readers, Bill. If you want to make salted caramel, this is what he did:
How to make salted caramel
"I love salted caramel – so – I added two level teaspoons of sea salt to the can (stirred well) before cooking. I made two cans, one with salt the other without and the one with salt was thicker faster (so adjust your time some); also it seemed to thicken more as it cooled. It was perfect for me, but maybe too much for some"
We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Please click on any of these recipes below to take you to our delicious recipes using Dulce De Leche
Caramel Mountain Top Cheesecake
White Chocolate Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Pecan cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
How To Make Dulce De Leche (caramel)
How To Make Dulce De Leche.
An easy recipe to making your own Dulce De Leche. Super easy, using a can of sweetened condensed milk & no other ingredients to give you sweet, sticky caramel.
Ingredients
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.
Instructions
- Remove the label from the can of condensed milk.
- Using a can opener, pierce two holes in the can, making sure the holes are on the top of the can at opposite sides. THIS IS IMPORTANT YOU MAKE HOLES to stop the can from exploding.
- Place the can in a small pot and fill it with enough water to come up to one inch (2.5cm) from the top of the can. (Place can in the pan with the holes facing up above the surface)
- Have the water gently simmering, check every 20 - 30 minutes to make sure the water doesn't boil dry. Top up to the original water level when necessary.
- Some of the condensed milk might come out through the holes you made. Don't worry about this.
- For a soft Dulce de leche simmer for 2 hours.
- A firm Dulce de leche will take up to 3 hours.
- When the time is up, carefully remove the can with some oven gloves. It will be VERY hot.
- Leave for 30 minutes to cool a little then open the can as you would normally.
- Scoop ot the dulce de leche into a bowl and give it a good stir.... and hey presto!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 canAmount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 49mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate
Bill W
says:Just had to play with the recipe (of course). I love salted caramel – so – I added two level teaspoons of sea salt to the can (stirred well) before cooking. I made two cans, one with salt the other without and the one with salt was thicker faster (so adjust your time some); also it seemed to thicken more as it cooled. It was perfect for me, but maybe too much for some?
In any case thanks for the recipe, easy is better IMHO – and more-so thanks for not telling a 100 hour story to get to it! /grin.
Lovefoodies
says:Hi Bill, thanks so much for your feedback and experiment with the salt. I’m going to add your advice into the recipe for everyone else as it’s so helpful!
I’m wondering if you added the salt in after, I.e. stirred it in at the end, I don’t think it would be quite as thick as you describe? (As that is what I’ve done in the past )
Glad you liked the recipe!
Bill W
says:Hey, thanks for the credit on the tinkering (wasn’t needed but dang nice of ya).
I was worried that the salt wouldn’t get distributed evenly, once it gets thick and harder to stir. I didn’t see your salted version of the recipe, I was just happy to have an easy caramel version! Without trying it I couldn’t say on how thick it got; I’m guessing it just absorbed more liquid than the other can – it wasn’t a lot thicker but it was noticeable. I will try it your way next time I need a batch of it ;)
Lovefoodies
says:Hey Bill! You’re very welcome, it’s always helpful to others when we can get feedback if anyone tries something a little different to the recipe!
Rebecca Bovenmyer
says:Just thought I would share a fun bit of history about making caramel out of sweetened condensed milk. During WW2 my grandmother would boil up condensed milk and send to my Uncle who was a Marine. My mother thinks she probably got the idea from a newspaper or some sort of Marine publication? Apparently many mothers were doing the same. Our family has always called it Marine Pudding. I make it for my family, it is a favorite of my husband and son, and now the grandkids.
Lisa Sisco
says:this is much easier done in a crockpot! remove label, set in crockpot, cover with water at least 2 inches above can, put lid on, set on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours for thick, rich caramel…no need to pierce the can, and no need to keep checking the water level!
lovefoodies
says:I don’t have a crock pot Lisa :( and I find this recipe is good for me as it only takes a couple of hours, but I do know some like to use the crock pot, thanks for your suggestions!
Happiness
says:Which temeperature to be used? This is interesting.. i wanna try it.